I reserved a ColorNook at my local B&N store a couple of weeks ago and was surprised when I got the call on Friday night to come in and pick it up. I did Saturday morning as I was still unsure of it and was really intending to buy an iPad when they update it next year.

I got to the store and was absorbed by the demo display they had at the front of the store. I picked it up (heavier than I expected) and started cruising around the interface. I started the introductory video and was astounded at the display. Simply beautiful, but not perfect (I could see the lighting fixtures reflected in the screen). Leafing through the magazine demos they had was terrific. The childrens books wil appeal to parents of small children for sure. I was impressed enough to go claim my ColorNook and take it home.

The reading experience is OK. I'm still not sure if this will be my platform of choice for normal reading. The screen is good and the contrast excellent, but I do prefer the e-ink for extended reading.

After getting it home and tinkering around with it (Trying to decided whether to keep it) I added some music and personal docs (.doc, .pdf, .xls fliles) and this began the joy cycle as they all rendered beautifully and looked fantastic. They were scrollable and zoomable and just wonderful. I next loaded some pictures and videos and they worked as well. (Note: I was having some trouble with the videos until I did a full reset of the device. After that no problem.) Next I fired up Pandora and downloaded a sample of Bush's book and next thing I know it was an hour later and I knew that the NookColor was staying with me.

It wasn't all peaches and cream. The battery life is close to what they say it is, so it needs a good charging every day, but it will last most of the day even with doing a range of activities, web surfing, reading, downloading, game playing etc. I have no doubt that the battery will last a whole day with wi-fi off and while reading only.

The Android browser isn't bad but the combination of the touchscreen and sometimes small type made picking links a problem. Magnify the page before selecting links is what I recommend. It also lagged a bit when scrolling. The screen is big enough to render entire pages.

The interface can use some cleaning up. The home page is OK, but you can't transfer pics, personal docs, or sideloaded books to it. It will only show content you've downloaded from the B&N store (very annoying, Why B&N, why?). They do show up in the Library however. Also, for some unknown reason you can't delete anything directly via the Nook interface. You are forced to connect the ColorNook to the computer and delete it that way. On the positive side, Calibre works beautifully with the CN and content can easily be managed that way.

So now I'm awaiting the firmware update and App Store from B&N that's supposed to be coming next year. I'm sure it will extend the value on my purchase and who knows it just may become my favorite reader.